SONGKHLA: Environment department officials have vowed to immediately demolish 20 illegal resort homes along the banks of Songkhla Lake after the resort owners refused to comply with a court order to take them down.

“We want them to see that we will definitely dismantle their installations” along the lake, a major tourist attraction, said Jintanawadee Tippayamaethkul, of the provincial Office for Natural Resources and Environment. 

“They [the owners] claimed that the court did not order them to demolish [the resorts] and refused to do so. They said the court only ordered them to leave the property, and that they already have left. They cunningly interpreted [the court  order] and left without moving their belongings with them," she said. 

Mrs Jintanawadee said her office was discussing with state prosecutors how to proceed with demolition of the 20 illegal homes in tambon Koh Yor in Muang district. The court case officially ended Aug 22, after the provincial court ordered the owners to take down the installations and leave the area. However, the violators had yet to leave the resort, she said.

Mrs Jintanawadee said officials also discovered another 30 newly built homes, which are encroaching on Lake Songkhla. Other resort operators had decided to build more accommodation and were thus new violators of the law after they saw the initial offenders refuse to leave despite the court order. 

She said the demolition can start right away, after Songkhla Governor Krisda Boonrach set up a special committee to look into the matter.

The committee would also introduce new regulations to protect the natural environment of tambon Koh Yor. The measures include preventing encroachment on Songkhla Lake and sea, and regulating the dumping of waste into the sea by hotel and restaurant operators. 

Provincial authorities have found some operators, including those who raise fish in floating baskets, did not install grease traps, but released waste water or food scraps directly into the sea, she added.

Jintanawadee Tippayamaethkul, a senior officer at Songkhla Provincial Office for Natural Resources and Environment.

(Photos by Wichayant Boonchote)